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Saturday, December 13, 2008

Tate and Canton have both been into "Knock, Knock" jokes lately. Some are funny and some... not so much. But this morning they were both eating breakfast and doing "Knock, Knock" jokes back and forth (even Oran kept saying "Knock - Knock!!") Tate must have gotten tired of that game though.Canton Said "Knock, Knock"Tate's response was, "So, come in ALREADY!!"I thought it was kind of funny.

Monday, December 8, 2008

We woke up this morning to falling snow and it FINALLY feels like December! All the holiday preparations have seemed a little odd without the usual snow flakes and slush, but now we're there so it's REALLY time to get down to business!We have less money to spend on Christmas this year than we've EVER had in all our five years of marriage, so we're getting a little creative. I have decided to make EVERYONE'S gifts out of yarn! I have quite the collecting and I am quite proficient at both knitting and crochet. So we'll just have to see how creative I can be! PLUS I need to get crackin' only 17 days left to go, and these things take time! The clock is ticking!

Monday, December 1, 2008

Canton is convinced that he IS Superman! He refuses to wear anything that is not red or blue. And insists on wearing a cape everywhere he goes! And, of course, if he's wearing a cape he has to run EVERYWHERE so it billows behind him. I'm tired of all the running and jumping but most of all I'm tired of him insisting that I refer to him as "Superman" if I call him "Canton" he either will simply ignore me, and not respond of he will yell, "No, I'M SUPERMAN!!!"

He's always claiming to hear people calling for help, at which he will drop whatever he's doing (reading a story, eating dinner, whatever) and run off to save someone who is in need of his assistance.He jumps off of everything! It's not so bad in the house when it's couches and beds, the fall isn't too far and the carpet breaks his fall. But he leaps off with arms out stretched and often lands in a full out belly flop. Occasionally I'll hear him say "Ow!" to which I just shake my head and wonder why he doesn't learn!It's when we're out of the house that I worry! He does the leap and belly flop out of the car sometimes on to our concrete driveway or on to asphalt parking lots. We were at Lowe's the other day when he heard a cry for help and lept out of the cart. Luckily I caught him before he landed on the hard floor. People must think we are very abusive parents if you look at all his scrapes and bruises!I took him to Fred Meyer the other day he was standing next to me and I turned to get the baby out of his car seat and Canton took off. Head bent one arm out in from of him as he full out ran from our car to the front doors of the store, all with cars going this way and that. I was not happy! And when i told him he couldn't do that he simply responded, "No, Mommy, I fly way fast, the cars can't hit me!!"

Friday, November 21, 2008

1. Tate is a wonderful artist. He loves to draw all day everyday and makes some very neat pictures. He loves to take requests from his little brother Canton, he'll draw what Canton asks him to and then Canton colors it.

2. Tate loves to learn new things. He's like a little sponge, he sucks up all the knowledge he can. When he finds a subject he is interested in he does all he can to find out more about it. He'll read books and even use our google toolbar to find out more about the things that he's interested it.

3. Tate likes to go to primary. He's always excited for Sunday. He loves to put on his "missonary clothes" and get ready for church. Throughout the week he is always excited when it's his turn to offer the prayer and he reminds us to read our scriptures every night.

4. Tate always does what he is told. He realizes the importance of being obedient, and even when he does it grudgingly, whatever it is always gets done.

5. Tate likes to sing. He's always making up songs about pre-school or books, or movies. He has excellent pitch and often creates new lyrics to a tune he's already familiar with. It's pretty funny to listen to his made up words.

This is a fun activity filled with goodness and happy thoughts! The children that are "kiddie tagged" next are:

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Our trip to the ER for Tate's stitches was only the beginning of our medical adventures in the past few weeks. Tate needed stitches after falling getting out of the tub on Halloween (which was Friday) that following Sunday I was getting ready for church. I heard Canton screaming so I came out of the bathroom to see what was going on. I turned around in time to see my baby grab the barrel of my hot curling iron with both hands and then drop it on his foot! So he had bad burns on both hands and on one foot. We got him all bandaged up and he seemed fine, but in need of extra love. So Oran stayed with me through the meetings, rather than going to nursery, and in Sacrament meeting threw up all over his Dad, the pew and the floor. Ryan took him home while I did my best to clean up the mess. Tuesday night and all day Wednesday Tate had the yuckos and was throwing up and miserable. Canton threw up once on Wednesday, but was fine after that.We had to make a second trip to the ER on Wednesday because Tate had a bad ear infection. He had been pulling onhis ear all day so at bed time I asked him to bring me a Q-tip so I could clean it out, and see if that helped. I sat down to clean out his ear and discovered that it was clear full of stuff! Tate is always putting things in his right ear. I tell him not to, but it's a habit he has. When he's drawing he'll put the end of his pencil in his ear, when he's playing, toys. When he lays down to sleep every night he puts a tassel from his blanket in his ear. It's always bothered me, but I never thought it was a real problem.I got my tweezers and pulled out balls and balls of different colored lint, and bits and pieces of paper. It smelled bad, like, puss, infections and dirty socks. It looked like there was more stuff in there down deeper, so I called Ryan and asked him what I should do. He told me to try to flush it out with water. Which I did. When Ryan got home from work he took over. He too saw a bunch of white stuff down in his ear and the water wasn't helping. So Ryan took him to the Emergency Room AGAIN! His ear was so infected that it had caused the ear drum to rupture. Which is kind of scary! The doctors told us that in children so young it usually heals just fine and any hearing loss he has experienced will be temporary.

We had an appointment yesterday - Tate's post-Emergency Room visit. Dr. Burton put on his serious face , sat down face to face with Tate and had a real "Man to Man" talk with him. He asked him why he had come in today. Tate put on a face just as serious and said, "Well, I kept putting stuff in my ear." "And why did you do that?" asked Dr. Burton.Tate's response was "To get out all the other stuff!" in an 'of course' sort of voice. I thought it was all rather funny. Dr. Burton told him that the only thing he should ever put in his ear was his elbow. He tried that for a few minutes, which was also funny to watch and said, "That's tricky!" Dr. Burton nodded and said, "So, if you ever want to put something in your ear, just put your elbow in there." Dr. Burton then looked in his ear, to see how it looked. He kind of got a funny face on and asked "They told you they'd gotten EVERYTHING out at the ER?" I nodded and he had me come over and look. There was clearly more stuff down in Tate's ear. So the nurse brought in a big syringe thing and a tub full of warm water. I held a special tub (with a place cut out for the ear) next to Tate's head and we flushed out the rest of the gunk. A great big wad of newspaper was embedded in the wax right next to his ear drum. Tate is hearing much better today. I think Dr. Burton is great! He's so good with kids, and it was a fun visit. I sure hope that we're done with Doctors for a while or we won't be able to buy Christmas presents!!

Saturday, November 1, 2008

We have had a VERY busy October, and I am glad it's over! My Grandma, Caroline "Oleta" Jensen White, passed away on October first.She was 98, and had lived a long, full life. She had been deteriorating for years and it was time. We will miss her, but are glad that she is freed from the limitations of a aging, mortal body. I'm sure she will be able to do much good on the other side.We had a funeral in Preston, ID on Friday, October 3. Much of my family was there. We had a second funeral and burial, the next day, October 4 in Vernal, UT. All of those who weren't able to attend the funeral in Preston, came to Vernal. There were only 3 of my cousins who were unable to make it to either. My wonderful husband took our three boys home to Pocatello, and I rode with my parents to Vernal and back.It was fun to see old friends, and visit places I remembered going to as a young child. It was also great fun to be able to spend so much time with my parents, without my usual, small distractions.To read the obituary and listen to funeral services visit http://www.webbmortuary.com

Here are all the cousins (and their spouses) who were at the funeral in vernal. There were others who came to the one in Preston.

We stayed with the Foley's, It's so nice to have such good friends! I haven't seen them in 10 years, but it was like it'd only been a few months. We talked and laughed, and had fun sharing memories. Here are Keith, Aljean, Cory and Carrie, we saw Carl and Emily too, but this is all that came for Sunday dinner.

We stopped in Red Canyon to see Flaming Gorge on our way home: My Dad and I._______________________________________________

As soon as I got home I had to start making preparations for Ryan's business trip. We left, the following Thursday, October 9. I ran my kids down to my parents' house (in Preston, ID) then hurried back to Pocatello to leave when Ryan got home from work. We drove as far as Boise, where we stayed with Ryan's brother's family. Then continued on in the morning.We drove for 8 hours on Friday, helped a family out of a rock slide. Left to find our hotel, got lost! (Google maps couldn't have been more wrong!) Had to hurry to get cleaned up before meeting other members of Ryan's team for dinner, and then went to bed exhausted!!

We spent all day Saturday in the convention center. It was neat to hear all the heads of the company talk, and to help everyone else get excited about this fantastic business opportunity!! (Because it really is WAY awesome!) I'm pretty pumped about the whole thing!We are officially on our way to financial freedom!See http://www.idaleader.com for the business opportunity or http://www.mycdrpsavings.com/idaleader for information on the productWe went to dinner with the founder and CEO of IDA that night along with 6 other couples. That was lots of fun!We went to bed way too late that night too! Morning came far to early and we were once again on the road, this time on our way home, a destination we did not reach until Monday evening around 9pm.

We stayed at the Embassy Suites in Portland, OR

I had never fully grasped the concept of "was this trip for business or leisure?" I always thought you could easily mix the two. But this was definitely a business trip, no leisure whatsoever! I got home feeling more exhausted than when I left and did not feel like I'd been on a vacation at all!

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A few days after our return, our kids had a bad case of the sniffles. This followed by one of the worst colds I've ever encountered! Ryan and I were only a few days behind the kid with this crud, that I've come to call "the cold of death!" It's been weeks and we're still coughing (although not quite as miserable)

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My birthday was October 15. I turned 25 this year!! A whole quarter of a century! Ryan had to work all day, but I had a wonderful birthday. Ryan got up with the kids and fed them breakfast! I got to sleep in a bit. The boys came in to sing "happy Birthday" to me around 8:00. They'd been making cards while our awesome Daddy cleaned up. The dishwasher had been loaded and the living room floor vacuumed by the time I got up.Ryan got off work at 7:00. My very good friend, Sam Hardcastle, offered to watch the kids so we could have some time together on my birthday. Ryan made reservations at the Texas Roadhouse. Although it's been open in our area for about a year I had never been. Ryan called ahead to see what on the menu I could eat (I have an allergy to soy). And they even saved a place on the grill for me that was 'Soy Free.' So I didn't even get sick on my birthday! That's a huge plus!!

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Through all of this I was doing my best to put together our Halloween costumes! I got Ryan the complete set of "Harry Potter" books for his last birthday. So within the last year Ryan and I have both finished all eight of those books. (We're both HUGE fans!) So for Halloween this year we decided to be characters from the "Harry Potter" books by J.K. Rowling.Caranna is Hermione Granger, Oran is Hedwig, the owl, Ryan is the Weasley twins (Fred AND/OR George) Tate is Harry Potter, and Canton is Ron Weasley.

Last night we attended our ward "Chili Cook off" and "Trunk or Treat." We won the prize for the best dressed family! We had lots of fun showing off our costumes and teaching our kids to beg for candy :P.

After we left there we stopped to see "Aunt Bonnie Green" she gave us some candy, the good kind, and told our kids they were cute, they always appreciate that. Then we stopped to see Ryan's Grandma, "Great-Grandma Stavast" she was happy to see us, but isn't such a Harry Potter fan ;). Around 4:00 Tate and Canton were taking a bath, getting all clean and ready for their Halloween costumes. Tate decided to get out of the tub, and as he was climbing out slipped and hit his chin on the porcelain. It was a pretty deep gouge, (compression cut) Ryan took him to the ER, and Tate got stitches. They got back just in time to dress for the ward party and Trunk or Treat.

After that we went to visit Ryan's other grandparents, "Great Grandma, and Grandpa Green." Halloween is a tradition at their house. They always have chili and pumpkin cookies. They started the tradition when Ryan was little because they thought the kids should eat some "real food" before devouring all their Halloween candy.While we were there we saw Ryan's Uncle Bill and Aunt DeeAnne, Uncle Alan and Aunt Debra, Aunt Lisa, and cousins, Colton, Annie, Mark, Michelle, and their three boys. It was a house full, and a party, like always! Fun, Fun.

We finished up the night with a stop at my Aunt Bonnie's house. My kids love to see the Bakes' family. We were a little late and they were already out of their costumes. But it was nice to see them anyway.

Sunday, October 26, 2008

The best time of the day, when all the house is quiet, and I can decide what I want to do. Since it's Sunday I decided not to do the typical laundry, dishes, or sewing. So here I am.Today was Tate's VERY first primary program! He was excited! But when the time came he looked very tired. I think he fell asleep a time or two on the stand. He sat next to his teacher and leaned against her arm.We practiced all of his little parts (he had three) and sang all of the songs at home. He knew it all, but watching him today you'd never know. Silly kids. I'm not sure if he asked for help on his lines, just because everyone else did, or just 'cause he had a bit of stage fright. But for the songs, he'd stand up with all the other children and then just stare at the congregation while everyone else was singing. Kinda weird.Today was also Oran's first official week of nursery. He was born April 23, so he was 18 months old on Thursday. He did very well, I knew he would. Since Canton is down there Oran and I have helped in the nursery a lot. He likes it in there! He's all about playing with toys, eating snacks and having singing time.We've all been very sick with a nasty cold. Every time we think it's over it comes back. I haven't decided if it's the same one or if we keep catching different ones. Either way it hasn't been much fun. I think I've been the one hardest hit. YUCK!I've been so busy trying to make all of our Halloween costumes. It hasn't gone as quickly as I had hoped. It's hard to feel motivated to sew when you're feeling so lousy. PLUS I have 3 broken sewing machines!!! They each have a different issue. So I try to pick the lesser of the "evils" depending on my fabric and project. Some day I'm going to buy a nice sewing machine and quit messing with my broken second hand ones. I guess there's a reason their former owners discarded them.So I've got two costumes down, three to go, and less than a week left! Isn't it silly to put so much effort into something we're only going to wear for ONE DAY!?

Thursday, October 16, 2008

We called the hospital, but they were unable to give us any information on the family, because we are not related, but we were able to get a hold of the press officer that we talked to after the accident. He said that the Dad had been released from the hospital, but was heavily medicated for his back injuries. The Mom was still in the hospital but listed in fair condition, and the children were all home.

Here are some pictures taken before all the excitement.

This one's kinda spooky!If you look in the middle you can see the parking lot. We were up even father that this when the slide happened.

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Ryan and I just got back from a trip to Oregon. We went to Portland on business while my parents watched our kids.Last Thursday I got Tate from preschool and we headed straight for "Grandma's House" in Preston. I dropped off the kids and their things and dashed back to Pocatello. I finished packing for Ryan and I and as soon as Ryan got home from work we were off!We stayed Thursday night in Kuna, ID with Ryan's younger brother and their family. We continued down the road in the morning.As we got into Multnoma County we were ahead of schedule and decided the take the old scenic highway that winds along the mountain side. We stopped there at one of the many falls; Horse Tail falls. We took some pictures, and then seeing that the trail to the top of the falls was only half a mile, we decided to take a little hike.We headed up the narrow trail which wound it's way up the mountain in steep switch back fashion. There was a sign indicating that we had reached the half way mark, only a quarter of a mile left to go.A couple of rocks started falling, we thought perhaps someone up higher had kicked some down, and we continued on. A few other rocks fell and then we met a family coming down the trail. There were two girls and a boy strewn out down the path, trailed by two adults. We warned them that some rocks had been falling and to watch out. They gathered closer together and started down the trial again.We went up over a rise and had gone about 30 yards when we heard a crunch as part of the mountain broke away. We heard the crunching of rocks and trees as melon size boulders, with sharp, jagged edges, tumbled down the mountainside. When the thundering of rocks stopped we heard the screams of the family.Ryan and I both turned around and ran back down the trail to find them intermingled with the rocks. One of the little girls was hurt badly Ryan picked her up and rushed down the trail with her. The parents had done their best to shield the children and had sustained the most injuries as a result. Both of them had several head injuries and other contusions.I quickly picked through the rocks gathering up jackets, keys, camera and cell phone and then followed behind the parents. I still marvel at the fact that they walked down under their own power.It was obvious the the terrain was unstable, as we continued down the trail rocks fell randomly, urging us to continue down to safety. Luckily 2 volunteer firefighters had started up the trail, Ryan handed the injured girl off to one of them and ran back up to see if he could help more. He took the couple's cell phone and called 911. They dispatched emergency services.As we got everyone down to the parking lot we set up an emergency area. Several people ran to their cars gathering up first aid supplies, blankets, towels, water, anything that might help. The volunteer firefighter administered first aid, others helped hold bandages, and limbs steady as we waited.The two other children were relatively unhurt, they had a few scrapes and bruises. The 10 year old girl, who was a friend of the family, had a bruised wrist and ankle, and a rock had grazed the 7 year old boy's head. They were both pretty shook up. So I busied myself trying to calm them and reassure them. I got some fruit snacks and bottled water from our car to give them. I felt relatively helpless in the whole situation, but felt that, that was something I could do.It took a half an hour for the ambulances to arrive. After which we learned the extent of the injuries. The 10 year old that Ryan had carried down the mountain had a broken leg, a broken wrist, broken ribs and suspected kidney damage.The mother and father had both suffered head trauma, broken ribs, along with neck and spine damage. The mother also had a broken arm. We hung around until all the ambulances had gone. All in all our little detour took us well over two hours. But we were glad that we were there to help that family.Who knows what might have happened had the children remain in the lead alone, and received the full blow of the rock slide. We consider it a blessing that we were there and able to help.As we continued down the old high way my toes curled as we traveled so closely to the mountain's edge. My stomach gave an odd lurch every time we saw signs cautioning us, and warning of the danger of falling rocks. Our return to I-84 came none too soon!

Sunday, September 28, 2008

I've finally found a minute in which to sit!! That hasn't happened for a while!The nursery leader called me yesterday and told me that she was very sick, and would I please help in nursery. I was reluctant, but can never tell anyone no. So Canton, Oran and I all went to nursery today.The lady who usually helps is in the hospital, and the other "helpers" were a new couple in our ward. I knew all the kids and had been in the nursery a lot, so things went very smoothly for the first hour. Then Canton got grouchy and mean and started throwing things and hitting people. Including me. I tried again and again to redirect him, but he was just having a bad day.By the time all of the parents came everyone was crying and ready to leave!!So I am exhausted and ready for my Sunday nap. But I thought I'd better let you all know that I am still around (it's been more than a week!)And I'll try to come up with something oh so cleaver to say later.

Friday, September 19, 2008

Last night was our first Bunco night of the year! A bunch of girls get together the third Thursday of every month and play Bunco from 7-9pm. The last two years I've been on the "sub list" so I only got called when someone else couldn't make it, but this years I'm a permanent member of the Bunco gang! I'm so excited! We always have SO much fun and laugh until our tummy muscles hurt (it's a great work out ;)Ryan had to work last night so my FANTASTIC cousin came to watch the kids, so they had a blast and so did I.

Friday, September 12, 2008

Here are some pictures from our excursion to the East Idaho State Fair, in Blackfoot last week.Caranna forever - a kaleidoscope of me, mirrors are fun!My baby doesn't talk so very much, but he likes to sign. I thought this was so cute!! He sat by this goat and was patting him and hugging him; every once in a while he'd stop to show this sign, his sign for "Love."Canton loved the petting zoo! Most of the picture I got of him were running from one animal to the next with him barely in the frame. These were the only two he stood in one place long enough for.Tate got tired of walking and we only had two strollers. Isn't it nice to have a big strong Daddy around?

Tate is learning so much at preschool! I am just shocked and amazed at how much he's learning and how quickly he's progressing! He's my little sponge. Part of what Ms. Kris does is focus on whatever the child is interested in. So he's learning about things he is curious about.After the first day of preschool he told me all about the life cycle of a butterfly. "They start out like a tiny egg, and then they turn into a caterpillar, and eat all the leaves, and when they're big they build a special house called a cocoon or a chrysalis. They stay in there and sleep for a long time and when they come out they have wings!" I thought Ok, that's neat.The next preschool day he learned about his skeleton. "Did you know everybody has bones!? Not just dead people and pirates... You have to have bones, they're what holds you up. See this, right here? (pointing to his chin) This isn't just my jaw bone, it's a Mandible! And here, you said it was a collar bone, but it's my Clavicle bone. And here (pointing to his knee joint) is a Patella, I have to have one of those or my knee wouldn't bend! And here, in my thigh is a Femur, it's the biggest bone! And did you know that, there aren't any bones in your nose or in your ears? They're made of cartilage! Oh, and fingers, (wiggling his fingers) have bones called Philangies!! That's funny!!"I was in shock! I couldn't believe that I heard all of those things come out of my 4 year old's mouth! My son knows more that I do! And he remembers everything!Yesterday it was all about planets. "Mom, there are 9 planets in our solar system... We live on Earth... All of the planets go around the sun which is a great big ball of fire in space! But it doesn't burn everything up because there's no oxygen in space... Mercury and Pluto are the smallest planets and Jupiter is the biggest... Saturn has rings made out of rocks! Venus is yellow because it has lots of acid in the air and Mars is red because it has lots of iron in it's dirt..." He went on and on and spent the rest of the day drawing planets, stars and rocket ships.He likes to sit and read books in the morning, it takes him a long time to sound out the words, but he's really reading. I don't hardly know what to think! I guess I'd better start reading a lot of books or something just so I can keep up with him!

Sunday, September 7, 2008

My kids started pre-school this past week. Canton is going to "Jen's Preschool" taught by our good friend Jenny Higgins. He is new at this whole school thing. I'm not completely sure he's ready, but he loves Jenny to pieces and really wants to be there; maybe we'll just see how it goes.Tate is going to "Busy Bee Preschool" taught by Kris Olsen, she is my Aunt's friend. We are all really excited about Tate's preschool experience this year. "Ms. Kris" used to substitute for the Montessori school here in Pocatello, she was impressed by the program, (created my Mariah Montessori) so she learned all about it and that is what she teaches in her class room.It's so fun to have Tate come home and be so excited about all of the new things he's learned that day, and all the fun things he'd done.Tuesday was their first day. Jenny had a very open "open house" type format. We all came and played. Tate and Canton made Fruit Loop bracelets and thought those were great fun!When we were done at Canton's preschool we made a stop at the store and then it was Tate's turn! He was so excited to meet new friends! I think things are going to work out well for him this year.I'm a little worried about my schedule, and am hoping I can hold out the full nine months! I tried two different approaches to working nap time around the preschool schedules, without much success at either. So this week we'll try to keep fine tuning that one... hmmm...Kids are so much fun! It's neat to watch them grow and learn new things. I'm so glad that they are able to have these fun new experiences.

Thursday, September 4, 2008

Every night before we go to bed I go around the house gathering up DOZENS of pictures like this one. Tate likes to draw and he does it A LOT! I think he's very talented and quite creative but I sure wish he'd quit using all of the paper!!I've tried to tell him "This is scratch paper, you can use this." To which he replies, "That has words on it!! I don't want that!" SO it continues. Every night, gathering up stacks and stacks of drawings that I don't know what to do with!I'm putting this one up because I thought Superman had an extra interesting expression.

Sunday, August 31, 2008

I's SO excited!! Today at church I counted SIX new families!! SIX! All at once! They're all younger families who came here to attend ISU, but our ward is finally gaining members instead of loosing them!About a year and a half ago our stake realigned all the boundaries for the wards and actually created two new wards. Leaving the bare minimum of required members within each of the ward boundaries. The church requires so many elders, high priests, young men, young women, primary aged children, etc. and we had just enough to make a ward. (including all of those who were inactive, which IS a lot!) Shortly after than everyone started moving! We had 3 or 4 families moving every weekend for about 4 months, and we weren't getting any new people! It was kind of scary! Sundays have been pretty sparse, and it's been almost impossible to fill all of the callings.SO that is why today was SO exciting for me!Plus all of the new sisters are about my age and in similar situations. So that's a great opportunity for new friends! What fun!!

Thursday, August 28, 2008

I'm so excited about our latest Relief Society project! Tuesday night we had a humanitarian night. It was SO well attended! FOURTEEN people! I hardly knew what to do!The humanitarian center in Salt Lake gave us materials to put quilts together. We were able to tie two quilts on Tuesday and have more to do next month!I was so very happy to see so many people there, it's probably the best turn out we've had for ANY activity in the two years I've been on the enrichment board.We even had two sisters come that are new in the ward. They heard the announcement from the pulpit on Sunday and came. I was impressed because we didn't even have Relief Society last Sunday because of the Twin Falls Temple dedication. BUT I'm feeling VERY encouraged. Two successful activities in a row! Somebody pinch me!Ryan has been SO busy building his business with IDA, we don't mind so much. It is hard to have him on the phone whenever he's home, but I am glad that he's being so successful! We're excited about the prospect of being debt free and having our Daddy home more often!There is a launch party planned for October 11, 2008 at the Embassy Suite Hotel in Portland, Oregon. We are trying to make arrangements so we can be there for the big event! It's just all so exciting!!If you want to hear more about what he's doing, listen to the conference calls, or learn about how the company is evolving the web site is http://www.idaleader.com/ or http://www.idaleaders.net

Monday, August 25, 2008

Thursday was Canton's 3rd birthday! Ryan got off work at 4:00 so we had plans to watch a movie at the Reel Theatre, and then have a special birthday dinner at Winger's. At 5:00, as we were heading out the door we got a phone call.My little nephew was in the emergency room. He had awoken his parents early that morning. He was in their bed and had a seizure! His seizures continued through out the day about every 20 minutes. It was a very scary time for their family. Ryan was able to go to the hospital and help give the baby and my sister-in-law blessings. While Ry was in the hospital for nearly 2 hours the boys and I walked around the campus and ended up at the park. That's where we were when Ryan called us and told us to come back.They got the seizures stopped, but the next 4 days were pretty rough ones for the little guy. Baby Arvil is only 5 months old and had to undergo MRIs, EEGs, Spinal taps, and blood tests. The doctors were able to rule out several things, but have yet to discover the cause of his seizures. He was discharged from the hospital this afternoon, with some anti-seizure medication in hand. So I guess now we just wait and see.SO, Canton's birthday celebration was put off because of those family troubles. BUT we were able to have a party on Saturday.Grandma and Grandpa White came with the rest of Gavin and Callie's kids (they were watching them so Gavin and Callie could focus all their attention on getting Arvil well.) My Aunt Bonnie and Uncle Tom came with their two youngest, Matt and Amy, and Grandma Green surprised us all by showing up on her way to Powell. She was in the process of moving this weekend, and stopped on her way through to attend our little party. We were so surprised and pleased!After our party we all took naps, even Ryan and I, then we went to a movie. We saw "The Kung-Fu Panda" at the Carmike 7. It was not so very fun, our kids wouldn't sit still, they were extra wiggly, wanted to talk, and were more interested in the projector booth and lighted Exit signs than the movie. But we tried. Maybe we'll wait until they're a bit older before trying that again.Our next stop was far more successful. We went to see the new McDonald's. I had never been in there and neither had our kids. It was great fun. Canton was so excited!! He was singing a "McDonald's song" that was pretty cute. He told the lady behind the counter that it was his birthday and she treated him all special. Tate and Canton each ordered their own food and felt so big and grown up. They got Star Wars toys in their Happy Meals that they were way excited about, and then they got to play on the great big, awesome play equipment. There was even a special area just for babies! We had lots of fun!It was a very good day. Good to see family, and celebrate our special little 3 year old. He's such a funny kid!

Monday, August 18, 2008

It's been a few days since I've said anything!Friday night we drove down to Preston. I was so excited that I danced around and did cart wheels in my parents yard. My kids laughed at me and kept exclaiming "Mommy's So Happy!" and I was! It was great fun to be "Home." This has been my first trip to Preston since June, and it was just nice to be there.Last week was fair week for Franklin County so my parents were at the "Diamond Rio" concert when we arrived. But we didn't mind, we made ourselves at home and put our kids to bed, all before their return.On Saturday we went to the Franklin County Fair. We saw all the quilts and afghans, tomatoes, pumpkins and carved zucchini. We even caught part of the "Beautiful Baby Contest" and some barrel racing and we saw some old friends. Tate said the horses were his favorite part and Canton liked the chickens best.Sunday was pretty crazy in our ward. I was asked to substitute by four different primary teachers. So I was pretty worried. There was a substitute in every class and it was utter chaos. It also happened to be a week when the Stake Primary Presidency chose to visit! It was a pretty rough day in Primary.Today, we've just been watching some more Olympics and trying to keep the house clean.Canton's birthday is on Thursday, he'll be three, I'm trying to decide what we should do for a party. He seems to have his heart set on a "Shrek Party" I have no idea why, he's only seen the movie once or twice, but ever since Tate had his Spiderman Party in May Canton has been asking for a "Shrek Party" with a "Shrek Cake." We'll have to see.

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

From the opening ceremonies on, we at the Green House just can't get enough! I love the Olympics and I seem to have successfully passed the Olympic bug on to my children.I love to watch all the different countries, see the expressions on their faces and realize what this chance, this oppurtunity to perform on a world stage means to them and their families. I'm a big USA fan and I'm always rooting on "our team" but I like to cheer on the under dog as well.I love the back ground stories and spotlights provided on different athletes, especially ones from other countries, who often have faced more challenges and adversity in their road to Beijing than most of the Americans. We really are so blessed in our country to have all the things that we have, and a lot of the time I think we don't realize how awesome our country is!My kids love to watch all of the different events, Canton' s is by far the gymnastics, he is so very good at jumping, climbing and tumbling. He tried doing all of the things we saw on TV. Tate, on the other hand is more into the swimming. He thinks that's pretty cool. Yesterday we were watching the men's water polo. Canton got a basket ball and started waving it around; he threw it to Tate who didn't catch it so well and got a bloody nose and a split lip. We turned the Olympics off for a while after that. (We needed to calm things down a bit!)BUT our nominations for best moments: definitely the men's swimming 4X100m final. Talk about AWESOME! I also thought it was great to see the men's gymnastics team so excited about a bronze metal. AND the women's volleyball team's first match against Japan, that was just so fun to watch!

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

I'm so excited for our Relief Society activity tonight! So much that I've been watching the clock and trying to "kill time" until 6:00 (thus the blogging) Cassie Ashdown, an absolutely fantastic girl in our ward, is a massage therapist and has agreed to teach a baby massage class. I think it will be way fun! Everyone is to bring a pillow to sit on, a blanket to lay baby on and either an infant (under 3) or a doll. I plan to take Oran, although I'm not sure he will stay on the blanket while I try to rub him...BUT the main reason I'm so excited is that so many of the women in our ward are excited! There are so many babies right now and in the mothers lounge and in the halls on Sunday everyone was all a buzz. SO I'm hoping we'll have a good turn out!I am our Relief Society "Home, Family and Personal Enrichment Leader" and we have not been very successful at planning activities that people actually come to - it's looking like this one hit the jack pot! So we'll wait and see how it goes. I'm crossing my fingers and toes.

Monday, August 11, 2008

Friday I gave Oran his very first haircut. His hair was long and wispy and he had a bit of a "comb over" on top like Grandpa White. Tate, Canton and Ryan all needed haircuts too, so we got out the stuff and I gave EVERYONE a haircut.I think the three older ones look pretty handsome, but every time I look at my baby I get sad. He looks so big and grown up. He's now a big boy and my baby is no more - weird that a haircut can do so much.

About Me

I am a mother of five energetic little boys. They keep me very busy, but every day is a new adventure. It's fun to watch them learn and grow. Viewing the world through their eyes has helped me re-discover the joy of childhood.

Ryan and Caranna

It's hard to believe that we've already been married for ten years. Time goes by so quickly! We have both grown so much in that time. We are so happy and the best of friends.

Tate

Tate is "Monkey Number One" according to his Dad. He is 8 years old and our little thinker. Tate loves being in the GATE (gifted and talented education) program and enjoys cub scouts. He is a wonderful artist and loves to draw pictures and read the scriptures. He's a happy littler 3rd grader and we love having him at our house.

Canton

Canton is our second born. He has more energy than the rest of us put together. He loves to explore and discover the world around him. He is so funny! He has a great imagination and is constantly making us laugh with his ever developing since of humor. He's in 2nd grade. He's learning new things everyday and loves sharing his new knowledge with anyone who will listen. He loves to invent and is always sharing ideas for his next big invention.

Oran

Our third little boy is growing up so fast! He's 5 years old and in kindergarten. He love to read and draw pictures. He's always making "books." He likes to play video games and is a little obsessed with The Legand of Zelda and Super Mario Brothers. His brothers are his best friends and they have fun creating new adventures. We love him lots, he's such a fun boy!

Skyler

Is our fourth little guy. He is so much fun! He had such a fun personality. Skyler is constantly making us laugh with the things that come out of his mouth! He loves his brothers and anxiously waits for them to return home from school each day. He likes watching "Caillou" and "Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood" on PBS. As long as he can watch his 2 shows everyday he's a happy camper. He likes helping and always asks if he can vacuum.

Briar

Five boys - oh my! Briar joined our family in December of 2012 . He is such a sweet little guy. We all think he is pretty neat and look forward to getting to know him better as we watch him learn and grow!